Protective device for upholstered furniture

ABSTRACT

A protective device is provided for use with upholstered seating furniture having a seat, a back and a removably back cushion. The device comprises a retaining plate having a protective flap attached thereto by adjustable retaining means. The plate is positioned between the back cushion and the back of, for example, an arm chair and the flap may overlay the upper region of the back cushion or may be tucked behind the cushion out of sight.

United States Patent Kalkowski [54] PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR UPHOLSTEREDFURNITURE [72] Inventor: Kurt Ulrich Kalkowski, Am Bleiberg 3,

5351 Kommem, Germany [22] Filed: May 24, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 146,061

[52] US. Cl ..297/219, 297/220 [51] Int. Cl ..A47c 31/10 [58] Field ofSearch ..297/219, 220, 223, 226, 227, 297/283, 221, 230, 231,112, 191,114, 397, 284, 253

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,234,571 7/1917 Robideau..297/230 1,962,215 6/1934 Sallop ..297/226 Mar. 14, 1972 Burkhard..297/253 Sallop 1,687,82610/1928 1,909,901 5/1933 2,126,331 8/19382,497,698 2/1950 Struble 2,831,533 4/1958 Pasquarelli.. 2,937,695 5/1960Coggin ..297/227 Primary Examiner-Francis K. Zugel Att0meyBums, Doane,Benedict, Swecker & Mathis [57] ABSTRACT A protective device is providedfor use with upholstered scating furniture having a seat, a back and aremovably back cushion. The device comprises a retaining plate having aprotective flap attached thereto by adjustable retaining means. Theplate is positioned between the back cushion and the back of, forexample, an arm chair and the flap may overlay the upper region of theback cushion or may be tucked behind the cushion out of sight.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented March 14, 1972 3,649,075

KM [l /J1 KJAMK; INVENTOR BY Ii? H. 91,8111,

HIS ATTo/Wey PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR UPI-IOLSTERED FURNITURE The inventionrelates to a protective device for the back cushion of upholsteredseating furniture having a seat, a back and such a cushion, whichprotective device has a protective flap which may be applied to thefront and the top of the back cushion and partially covers the latter.

High quality upholstered furniture has seat cushions and back cushions.These cushions comprise a core and a high quality cover. The textilecovering materials used, and even leather and plastics material covers,are very susceptible to soiling. The top regions of the back cushion areparticularly susceptible to soiling, since people and children sittingin an upholstered armchair rest their heads in these regions. Thus, itis impossible to prevent perspiration from the neck and head, hairpomade, hair fixative and other agents for treating the hair (bearing inmind the fashion of wearing long hair) from being transferred to thecover on the back cushion and adhering thereto. These back cushionsbecome very soiled in a very short time. This is particularly noticeablein the case of upholstered armchairs which are used in hotels, receptionhalls, etc., and which are used by a great variety of people. It isvirtually impossible to clean back cushions, since the covers usuallycannot be removed from the cores of the cushions and it is virtuallyimpossible to clean the cover together with the core of the cushion.

Thus, it is known to place a protective flap on the top and front of theback cushion, the flap being, for example, in the form of a trimmed andembroidered decorative cover. Such protective covers may be used inprivate households. However, these protective covers are unserviceablefor upholstered armchairs used in rooms accessible to the public, forexample hotel reception halls. They destroy the elegant and fashionableimpression which the upholstered furniture should produce in the roomswhich it occupies. Furthermore, the protective covers have to be securedto the back cushions by means of pins, buttonlike fasteners or zipfasteners which requires personnel. Furthermore, it is a relativelycomplicated matter to fasten the protective covers.

Owing to these difficulties, the upholstered armchairs used in suchrooms are often unprotected and therefore are soiled very rapidly.

An object of the invention is to provide a protective device, for usebetween the back cushion and back of upholstered seating furniture,which may be used in a manner more simple than hitherto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective cover whichmay be removed incurring little expense.

According to the invention there is provided a protective device for usewith upholstered seating furniture having a seat, a back and a removableback cushion, which protective device comprises a protective flap, aretaining plate adapted to be disposed between the back and the backcushion without projecting above the said back and back cushion, andadjustable fastening means for the protective flap provided on theretaining plate.

Thus, the retaining plate holding the protective flap is located betweenthe back and the back cushion of the upholstered seating furniture so asto be concealed and out of view from the outside. When not in use, theprotective flap hangs down from the retaining plate and is likewiseconcealed by the back cushion and the back of the seating furniture. Inorder to use the protective flap, the back cushion is tilted forwardlyslightly, the protective flap is drawn upwardly and applied over the topand front side of the back cushion, which is then tilted back into itsnormal position. Thus, in an extremely simple manner, the inventionprovides a protective device which has a position when in use and aconcealed position when not in use. Transition from one position to theother can be effected within a matter of seconds and does not cause anydifficulties.

The protective flap may be secured to the retaining plate and releasedtherefrom in a simple manner. Thus, after the protective flap has beensoiled, it may be removed and exchanged for a clean protective flap. Thesoiled protective flap may be washed or laundered in the customarymanner, or it may be cleaned chemically and, if required, disinfected.

In an advantageous development of the invention, the retaining plate ismade from plastics material or a similar hard material. It may thereforehave a thickness of only a few millimeters which may readily beaccommodated between the back and the back cushion without wearing out.

The height or the length of the retaining plate is, of course, less thanthe height of the back, so that the retaining plate is concealed by theback. The same applies to the width. Since the dimensions of the backsof upholstered furniture are standardized or only a few differentdimensions are met with on the market, two sizes of retaining plate, alarge size and a small size, can be used in all upholstered seatingfurniture.

To connect the protective flap to the retaining plate, and in accordancewith the invention, a plurality of adjustable holders for fastening theprotective flap are provided side-by-side in the retaining plate belowthe top edge thereof. These holders enable the protective flap to bereleasably secured.

In a further development, a plurality of spaced, parallel slots areprovided in the retaining plate, and the holders are adjustably andclampably retained in the slots. If a greater length of the protectiveflap is to overhang and cover the back cushion, the holders are clampedin the top of the slots. However, if only a short length of theprotective flap is to overhang the back cushion, the holders and thusthe protective flap are drawn downwardly in the slots and then clamped.The greater portion of the length of the protective flap is thenconcealed between the back cushion and the back. Consequently, a shorterportion of the protective flap overhangs the back cushion.

It has proved to be advantageous if the slots extend from a shortdistance below the top edge of the retaining plate to about half theheight thereof. It is unnecessary for the slots to extend to the bottomedge of the retaining plate since, if the screw connections were locatedat their lowest position at the bottom ends of the slots, too great alength of the protective flap would lie unused between the back and theback cushion. Furthermore, slots of such a length would impair thestability of the retaining plate.

In a modification of the invention, elongate openings are providedbetween the slots in the retaining plate, which openings are wider thanand parallel to the said slots. These openings increase the elasticityof the retaining plate. Thus, the retaining plate does not impair theresilient effect of the back cushion and follows its movements anddeflections caused by the person sitting in the armchair.

In order further to increase the elasticity, and in accordance with theinvention, indentations or recesses are provided in each side of theretaining plate.

In detail, the holders may comprise screws having screwthreaded shankswhich are insertable through the slots, the screw-threaded shanks beingscrewable into screw-threaded members abutting against the rear of theretaining plate, and the heads of the screws hold the protective flapwhich is fitted or drawn onto the heads of the screws.

For this purpose, one end of the protective flap has slits correspondingto the spacing of the slots, and the protective flap may be slipped overthe heads of the screws by means of the said slits.

In order to facilitate drawing the protective flap onto the heads of thescrews without loosening the screw connections, and in accordance withthe invention, the screws have spacer surfaces between thescrew-threaded shanks and the heads of the screws.

The invention will be further described, by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective illustration of an upholsteredarmchair having a back cushion, a retaining plate and a protective flap;

HO. 2 is a cross section through the screw connection;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the upholstered armchair with the sidepart removed, with the protective device shown in the position in whichit is notbeing used;

FIG. 4 is a corresponding elevation of the upholstered armchair with theside part removed, shown with the protective device in the position inwhich it is being used; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective general view of an upholstered armchair with theprotective device shown in the position in which it is being used.

FIG. I shows an upholstered armchair 12 of conventional construction.The chair 12 has a back 14, a back cushion 16 and a separate seatcushion 18. A retaining plate 20, abuts against the back 14 and haselongate relatively wide openings 22 which increase the flexibilitythereof. Slots 24 extend alongside the openings 22. The slots 24 receiveholders 26 (shown in detail in FIG. 2). The retaining plate hasindentations or recesses 28 on each side. A protective flap 30 havingslits 32 at its upper end is also shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows a holder 26 in greater detail. The holder 26 includes ascrew having a screw head 34 and a screw-threaded shank 36 which isinserted through one of the slots 24 and screwed into a screw-threadedretaining member 38. The holder also includes a spacer disc 40.

To prepare for use, a protective flap 30 is slipped onto the heads 34 ofthe screws by means of slits 32 in the flap. The slits 32 locate on thespacer discs 40 when the protective flap is slipped onto the heads ofthe screws. In this manner, the retaining plate 20 and the protectiveflap 30 are secured to one another. The retaining plate 20 and theprotective flap 30 may now be inserted between the back 14 and the backcushion 16, arranged as illustrated in FIG. 3. To use the protectiveflap, the back cushion 16 is tilted forward somewhat so that theprotective flap 30 is exposed and can be gripped and placed over thehack cushion 16, producing the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 4. Theprotective flap 30 will overhang the back cushion 16 to a greater orlesser extent in dependence upon the length ofthe back 14, the lengthand thickness of the back cushion 16, the height of bottom seat cushion18, the length of the retaining plate 20 and the length of theprotective flap 30. The extent to which the protective flap 30 overhangsthe back cushion 16 may be adjusted within a wide range by slackeningoff the holders 26 and sliding upwardly or downwardly.

The perspective illustration in FIG. 5 shows the final position of use.A person sitting in the armchair will rest his neck and head against theprotective flap 30. The protective flap 30 protects the back cushion 16against soiling. If the armchair is to be used without a protective flap30 for the sake of external appearance, the protective flap 30 may bereturned into the non-visible position illustrated in FIG. 3 in which itis not being used.

The protective flap 30 may be made from a material such as a textilefabric which matches the covering material of the upholstered armchair12 with respect to such factors as quality, pattern and color.

The protective flap 30 fulfils its intended function when it is in theposition when in use, while it remains completely nonvisible when in theposition when not in use.

I claim:

1. For use with upholstered seating furniture having a seat, a back anda removable back cushion, a protective device which comprises aretaining plate adapted to be disposed between said back and said backcushion without projecting above the back and back cushion;

adjustable fastening means located on said retaining plate;

and

a protective flap secured to said retaining plate by said fasteningmeans said flap being capable of overlaying at least the upper regionsof said cushion.

2. Protective device defined in claim 1, wherein said retainingplate ismade from plastics material. I Protective device as defined in claim 1,wherein a plurality of adjacently disposed holders for fastening theprotective flap are carried on the retaining plate.

4. Protective device as defined in claim 3, wherein the retaining platecarries a plurality of spaced, parallel slots in which said holders areadjustably and clampably held.

5. Protective device as defined in claim 4, wherein the slots extendfrom a short distance below the one edge of the retaining plate to aboutmidway to the opposite edge.

6. Protective device as defined in claim 4. wherein elongate openingsare provided between the said slots in retaining plate which openingsare wider than and parallel to the said slots.

7. Protective device as defined in claim 1, wherein indentations orrecesses are provided in each side of the retaining plate.

8. Protective device as defined in claim 4 wherein the holders comprisescrews having screw-threaded shanks which are insertable through theslots the screw-threaded shanks being screwable into screw-threadedretaining members abutting against the rear of the retaining plate theheads of the screws holding the protective flap.

9. Protective device as defined in claim 8, wherein one end of theprotective flap has slits corresponding to the spacing of the slots andthe protective flap may be slipped over the heads of the screws by meansof the slits.

10. Protective device as defined in claim 8, wherein the screws havespacer discs between their screw-threaded shanks and heads.

1. For use with upholstered seating furniture having a seat, a back anda removable back cushion, a protective device which comprises aretaining plate adapted to be disposed between said back and said backcushion without projecting above the back and back cushion; adjustablefastening means located on said retaining plate; and a protective flapsecured to said retaining plate by said fastening means said flap beingcapable of overlaying at least the upper regions of said cushion. 2.Protective device defined in claim 1, wherein said retaining plate ismade from plastics material.
 3. Protective device as defined in claim 1,wherein a plurality of adjacently disposed holders for fastening theprotective flap are carried on the retaining plate.
 4. Protective deviceas defined in claim 3, wherein the retaining plate carries a pluralityof spaced, parallel slots in which said holders are adjustably andclampably held.
 5. Protective device as defined in claim 4, wherein theslots extend from a short distance below the one edge of the retainingplate to about midway to the opposite edge.
 6. Protective device asdefined in claim 4, wherein elongate openings are provided between thesaid slots in retaining plate which openings are wider than and parallelto the said slots.
 7. Protective device as defined in claim 1, whereinindentations or recesses are provided in each side of the retainingplate.
 8. Protective device as defined in claim 4 wherein the holderscomprise screws having screw-threaded shanks which are insertablethrough the slots the screw-threaded shanks being screwable intoscrew-threaded retaining members abutting against the rear of theretaining plate the heads of the screws holding the protective flap. 9.Protective device as defined in claim 8, wherein one end of theprotective flap has slits corresponding to the spacing of the slots andthe protective flap may be slipped over the heads of the screws by meansof the slits.
 10. Protective device as defined in claim 8, wherein thescrews have spacer discs between their screw-threaded shanks and heads.